It's the end of the line for world surfing this season! In mid-September, the WCT made a stopover in California for its last event: the Rip Curl WSL Finals. The opportunity to look back on the splendid year that Johanne Defay, Private Sport Shop ambassador, has just had.
Except for the first round of the WCT - the Maui Pro - where she went out in the round of 16, the Reunionese has always reached the quarters in 2021. On the spot of Rottnest Island in AustraliaThe Frenchwoman competed in the final, which was won that day by local Sally Fitzgibbons. The following month on the Surf Ranch in California, Johanne returned to the final, but this time went all the way to the end and won. The fourth of her career on the tour.
At the end of July, another highlight of the season for Johanne Defay: its participation in the Tokyo Olympic GamesIt was the first time in the history of the discipline. If she was very expected because of her second place in the general ranking before the competition, the weather conditions decided otherwise. Like other competitors, the Frenchwoman suffered from random waves that were difficult to read. She had to say goodbye to the competition in a hurry in the last 16, ousted by an unknown, the Portuguese Yolanda Hopkins. A bitterness shared by the athlete on Instagram: "the reality of my sport caught up with me today... No waves, no medal. All kidding aside, I'm frustrated that I couldn't express myself. But in these conditions, I don't think I'm the only one to come out of the water with this feeling. I'm disappointed to have disappointed you.
A few days ago, the Rip Curl WSL Finals were held at Trestles, California, the epilogue to the 2021 World Championship season. Only the top five surfers overall qualified for these play-offs. Alongside Johanne were Carissa Moore, Tatiana Weston-Webb, Sally Fitzgibbons and Stephanie Gilmore.
Carissa Moore at the top of the ranking, the title holder had only the final to fight, unlike Johanne who had to win five consecutive rounds (last duel in two winning rounds) to take the crown. For her match 1 against Stephanie Gilmore - seven-time world champion - Johanne Defay did not falter. On the contrary, she even managed a personal feat: to win whereas in their three WCT head-to-heads, the Frenchwoman had always lost. Final score 12.17 against 6.70.
In the next round, Defay continued her Australian parade, as Sally Fitzgibbons was in front of her. Unfortunately, the duel did not turn to the advantage of our Frenchy this time. With a score of 6.66 against 11.33, Johanne saw her dream of a world crown slip away. However, by being ranked fourth in the world at the end of these finals, she signs her best season since her entry on the tour in 2014.
A course that Johanne recently congratulated herself on Instagram: "what a difficult year in many ways. But fourth in the world! It's worth it! One morning, it's normal for me to be a professional surfer, and the next day, I wake up and realize that I'm living the life I dreamed of as a little girl.